Bendigo youth theatre groups develop emerging performer voices

Bendigo Theatre Company and Arena both run programs that introduce young performers to live theatre in the city. These efforts draw on the two main performance spaces, Ulumbarra Theatre and Bendigo Bank Theatre, where new voices can appear alongside visiting productions.

Venues that host new and established work

Ulumbarra Theatre sits inside the former Sandhurst Gaol and presents national and international touring artists, musicals, ballet and bands inside state-of-the-art spaces that retain 1860s penitentiary architecture. Bendigo Bank Theatre, originally the 1873 Freemasons lodge room, provides an additional stage for performances. Both venues give local emerging talent places to perform or observe professional work.

Organisations and programs that train young performers

Bendigo Theatre Company, a not-for-profit community group established in 1952, produces live theatre and runs the Tribe Youth Theatre program. Arena, a Bendigo-based organisation with 60 years of history, creates theatre and creative programs for young people across Victoria. Props Theatre runs a progressive drama program that offers weekly one-hour classes in improvisation, voice work and scripted plays. These groups supply the training and performance opportunities that feed into the city’s venues.

The combination of long-running community organisations and heritage theatres supplies a clear route for young performers to move from classes into productions. Residents can follow the schedules of Ulumbarra Theatre and Bendigo Bank Theatre to see where new talent appears on stage.